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Environment groups ask feds to step up caribou protection

Ecojustice lawyers, acting on behalf of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Greenpeace Canada, Wilderness Committee, and Wildsight, sent a letter to Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna on Nov. 16, urging her to implement protections for Southern Mountain caribou in British Columbia.

The groups issued the following statement upon sending the letter:

“Southern Mountain caribou face imminent threats to their recovery – by definition, this means that the future of these herds depends on our ability to protect them today. These herds have been in a steady and worrying decline in recent years, primarily due to the destruction and degradation of their habitat.

“Minister McKenna acknowledged this urgent situation last May, when she officially declared threats to Southern Mountain caribou recovery imminent. Since then, however, the minister’s efforts to protect the herds appear to have stalled and urgent action is still required.

“The groups’ letter outlines six actions necessary to prevent extinction and provide for the recovery of Southern Mountain caribou. These include urgently completing conservation agreements with the B.C. government and First Nations Treaty Eight governments.

“This urgent deadline reflects the dire situation the Southern Mountain caribou face. We urge the minister to follow through with strong, enforceable action starting by the end of December, or risk the real possibility that Southern Mountain caribou could disappear from the wild under her watch.”